Page 54 of Not Over You
She was quiet for a long time, and he couldn’t decide if that was a good or bad thing. Was she thinking over what he could do to make amends? Or drawing out her painful rejection just to twist the knife until it hit bone?
He squeezed her thigh again. “Hmm?” He was patient, but this agony was a million times worse than his sliced knuckle. He’d take a potato peeler to every one of his knuckles and let her pour antiseptic on each one by the bucketload than endure any more of her quiet mulling.
When she finally lifted her gaze, he could tell he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. But he wasn’t expecting her to say what she said next and it shook him harder than he anticipated.
“Maybe if you opened up to me the way you expected me to open up to you—the way Ididopen up to you, then I would consider us getting back together.”
“Rayma, I—”
She shook her head and pulled off a long piece of gauze from the roll, cutting it with the scissors. “Forget it. I knew you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t when we were together and won’t when you want me back. You say you’ll grovel and kiss my feet, but when I ask you to give me theone thingyou refused to give me when we were together—all of you—you can’t. You won’t. And this time around, I won’t accept anything less.”
Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Mayfour years ago…
“Jordan, this trail keeps getting narrower and narrower, are you sure it’s even meant for humans?” Rayma wiped the sweat from her brow and stopped in her tracks glancing around the thick brush and towering evergreens. “Seems more like a deer trail. Did we wander off the marked path?”
It was early May, but beautiful out and rather warm, so on a weekend that Rayma wasn’t bogged down with studying and Jordan wasn’t working, they decided to head out to East Sooke Park to go for a hike. She’d never been big intothe great outdoorsbefore meeting Jordan, but after their second date where he took her on a hike, she had to admit, she was starting to see the appeal.
He came up behind her wearing one of his sexy, knowing smiles. “I may have taken us a bit off course, but I assure you, my intentions were—”
“Pure?” She lifted a brow.
“No, purely sinful,” he said, invading her space and backing her up until her ass hit a tree. He let the backpack slide off his back to the ground and reached for her hands, pinning them above her head against the rough bark of the tree. “Keep your arms above your head. And, no, we won’t run into people out this way. Just the birds, the deer, the squirrels, and the—”
“Cougars?” she quipped, lunging out and capturing his bottom lip between her teeth.
He growled and pulled away, capturing her mouth with his. Their tongues met in a frenzy of motion, passion, and desire shooting through them as he held her arms above her head with one hand, then cupped her breast over her white tank top with the other. She was wearing a sports bra, and he growled in frustration when it wasn’t easy for him to free one breast and pinch her nipple.
“Fucking hate these things,” he grumbled, breaking their kiss and scraping his teeth along her jaw.
“Too bad, Lassie. Sports bras are a wardrobe essential. I’m not going to go hiking in a pushup bra with painful underwire. Give your head a shake.” He sucked on her neck and she tilted her head to the side. “You’ll just have to take all my clothes off.” She grinned and pressed her pelvis against his, feeling his erection beneath his khaki pants.
He nipped her neck. “Guess so.”
In no time, he had her completely naked, not even in her underwear, and back up against the tree. He was still completely dressed and the way his eyes roamed her body, heated her skin to the point where sweat misted her forehead. The breeze was cool, but it was no match for the inferno raging inside her and how badly she wanted—nayneeded—this man.
“Not fair, Lassie,” she said with a pout, taking in his still clothed body. “I’m out here, naked as a jaybird and you’re all covered up.”
“Clothing just hinders your beauty.” His words were husky and dripping with desire while his gaze remained hot and heavy on her body, shrouding her in warmth and causing her nipples to tighten to stiff, painful points.
“You gonna just stand there and stare at me, or are you going to get over here and do something with all this naked beauty?” He’d told her to put her hands above her head again, but like the brat that she was, she dropped her arms and squeezed her breasts together, biting her lip provocatively. “I’m so wet, baby.”
Heat flared in his green eyes. “I told you to keep your arms above your head, brat.”
“Whoops.” She shrugged. “What are you going to do about it?”
Since she met him, he’d let his dark brown hair grow longer until a swath of it swept across tousled-like over his forehead. A dark shadow hugged his jaw, emphasizing his strong, masculine features. And just at that moment, a cloud decided to drift in front of the sun, casting the entire forest into total shade, which only amplified the darkness that surrounded him.
For months, she’d been trying to get him to open up to her. To reveal to her the trauma that haunted him, but no matter how much she pressed, he refused. Then he’d shut down. It hurt more than she was willing to admit. He’d insisted she let him in on her pain but didn’t trust her with his.
And even when they were playing and about to be intimate, she could see the weight that he carried with him daily. The burden. The pain. And yet, he just wouldn’t let her help him carry that load.
Would he ever?
Lost in her own thoughts, she was caught off guard when he had her flipped around, her hands on the bark of the tree, breasts pressed up against the trunk, and his hand came down hard and cracked against her cheek.